Machine for twisting and stretching rawhide whip-centers.



No. 633,433. Patented Sept.v l9, I899. J. P. DONOVAN.

MACHINE FOB TWISTING AND STBETGHING RAWHIDE WHIP CENTERS.

(Application filed May 29, 1899.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet L No.633,433. Patented Sept. l9, I899. J. P. DONOVAN.

MACHINE FDR TWISTING AND STRETCl-HNG RAWHIDE WHIP CENTERS.

(Application filed May 29 1899.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Shaet 2.

NQQ NK Jib-11 No. 633,433. Patented s t 'le, I899} J. P. DONOVAN.

MACHINE FOR TWISTING AND STRETCHING RAWHIDE WHIP CENTERS. (Applicationfiled m 29, 1899.) {No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

NITED STATES PATENT QFFIQE.

JOHN P. DONOVAN, OF VVESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR TWISTING AND STRETCHING RAWHIDE WHIP CENTERS.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,433, datedSeptember 19, 1899. Application filed May 29, 1899. Serial No. 718,629.KNO model.)

To (0% whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN P. DONOVAN, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of lVestfield, in the county of Hampden andState of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Machines for Twisting Rawhide \Vhip-(Jentors, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in a machine or apparatus fortwisting rawhide whip-centers while in a wet or moist state, maintainingsuch strips in the twisted condition until they shall have become dryand set and without tendency to untwist.

The object of the invention is to provide a machine which is convenientand practical and eflicient and satisfactory for twisting the rawhidestrips.

The object of the invention is, furthermore, to provide a machine of thecharacter indicated which is capable of convenient and expeditious useand permits the employment therein or in conjunction therewith ofremovable appliances on which pluralities or series of the strips ofrawhide are supported and twisted, so that these appliances may beinterchanged successively in carrying forward the rapid performance ofthe work without the necessity of waiting for the strips which have beentwisted to become dried and set.

The invention consists, primarily, in a machine comprising opposite endsupports for connection therewith of the strips of rawhide to betwisted, one end support at which the rawhide is connected beingrotatable, while the other end support is non-rotatable, and means forrotating the supports at one end.

The invention furthermore consists in a machine comprising opposite endsupports for connection therewith of the strips of rawhide to betwisted, one end support being rotatable, while the other isnon-rotatable, one of the end supports being endwise movable toward andaway from the other, means for imparting the endwise movement of the onesupport in relation to the other end support for placing the rawhide inproper tension while being twisted, and means for rotating each of thesupports for the rawhide strips at one end of the machine for twistingsuch strips.

The invention furthermore consists in opposite supports for series ofthe strips of rawhide and with which the latter are to be engaged, thoseat the one end being individually rotatable and supported on or carriedby a part in common to the other end support and removable bodily fromthe machine proper, which machine proper comprises the means forrotating the individual supports or hooks for the rawhide at one end ofeach thereof and the means for imparting the endwise draft movement toone of the end supports of the series of rawhide strips, so that thestrips after having been twisted and tensioned may, while remaining onthe supports on which they were twisted, be bodily removed from themachine, leaving the same in readiness for the reception of similarappliances on which a new series of the rawhide strips may be mountedand twisted as before; and the invention furthermore consists in theconstructions and combinations of parts, all substantially ashereinafterfully described, and set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a plan view of my improved ma chine. Fig. 2 is substantially acentral longitudinal vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a verticalcross-sectional view of a portion of the machine as taken on the line 33, Fig. 2. Fig. 4c is an elevation of the righthand end of the machinewith a part broken away for a clearer illustration. Fig. 5 is aperspective view of a part of the supporting-head for the individualrawhide engaging and supporting hooks, showing more particularly thecombination of one of such rotatable hooks with a ratchet or detentdevice therefor which serves to prevent the untwisting. Fig. 6 is asectional view, on a larger scale, showing the manner of detachableengagement of one of the twister-hooks with the gear-wheel which impartsthereto its rotary twisting motion.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all ofthe views.

In the drawings, A represents the framework of the machine, the samecomprising upright ends a a and the opposite horizontal lengthwiseextending bars or rails a a At the upright head end of the machine isjournaled a spur-gear 13, mounted on the suitably-journaled shorthorizontal shaft 0, for which is provided the double-lever handle D.Also journaled in the upright head end of the machine are theconcentrically-arranged series of spur gear-wheels F F in mesh with anddriven by the large gear-wheel B. Each of these pinion gear-wheels F isprovided with an elongated hollow hub b, as more particularly seen inFig. 6.

As shown in Fig. 2, the right-hand head end of the machine isconstructed in the form of a casing for the gear-wheels and also isadapted to constitute the j ournal-bearings therefor, the said uprightend of the machine being made with the outer and inner plates or walls10 10, separated by the spacing blocks or bars 12 and bolted together,the ends of the tubular hubs b of the pinion gear-wheels being extendedinwardly beyond and to the exterior of the said gear-supporting head ofthe machine. I Said gear-supporting head is at its inner face providedwith the centrally-apertured journal hub or support E, axiallycoincident with the journal of the large central gear.

Near the opposite end of the machine from the aforesaid head end is ahorizontal normally-stationary rest or support G, which, however, isendwise adjustable, as and for the purpose hereinafter explained.

At the inner edge or end of the support G is a bearing-stud or othersuitable support (I for the left-hand end of the tubular shaft J, theopposite end of which shaft is entered within the central socket ftherefor in the portion E at the inner face of the upright head of themachine. The said restis formed centrally apertured, as indicated at c,and through the bushing or portion g of the stationary support G isarranged the horizontal longitudinal screw-shaft K, having at itslefthand end the hand-wheel 7cand having at its right-hand end thecollar 1', understood as loose thereon, but engaged therewith to moveendwise with the screw-shaft as the same is turned. The tubular shaft J,which is mounted axially coincident with the center of the gear-wheel B,being removably supported at one end in the socket f and at the otherend on the support-stud (Z of the rest G, has thereon' at the right-handend near the inner face of the gear-casing the centrally-aperturedcircular board or disk H, which is provided in addition to its centralaperture 6, through which the shaft J has its end portion passed, withthe circular series of holes m, coincident with the axes of thepinion-wheels F, and through which holes the twister-hooks n areextended, the shanks of these hooks being entered within the tubularhubs of the pinion gear-Wheels F and engaged at the flattenedsides 91thereof by the inwardly-extended ends of the screws 0, which pass with athread engagement transversely through the hubs b of the pinions. Thereis provided upon the left-hand end portion of the tubular shaft J thesliding collar P, endwise tapered, as indicated at 15. This collar isprovided with the radial series of pins or spurs q, corresponding innumber to the hooks n and to the number of strips of rawhide to bestretched and twisted in the machine at one time.

s indicates a retaining-ring to be crowded on the conical collar Ptoward the spurs q.

The tubular shaft J has near its right-hand end the shoulder pin orcollar 16 for preventing the apertured disk M from being unduly movedalong the shaft toward the left. The said shaft J is also near itsleft-hand end provided with several closely-arranged transverseperforations 18, through one of which a limiting-pin 19 is passed, andbetween the outwardly-protruding ends of this pin and the adjacent endof the collar a spiral spring 20 is applied, the reaction of which isagainst the collar to exert a forcing leftward pressure thereon. I

it represent straps having connection at their one end with theaforesaid collar 7;, carried by the screw-shaft K, and havingengagements at their other end with the crossbar or stiff rod u,transversely arranged and lying against the right-hand end of the collarP.

In the utilization of this machine the strips of wet rawhide 00, whichin practice may be six or seven feet long, have their left-hand endsengaged with the spurs or pins q of the collar P, and the retaining andbinding ring sis then slid up over the strips toward the spurs, bindingsaid strips with a tight pressure against the collar. The strips x arethen returned rightward and have their right-hand extremities, which areusually slitted or perforated, engaged with the hooks n, the collar Pbeing forced by hand as far as practicable to the left and theretaining-pin 19 engaged through the proper cross perforation of thetubular shaft. The cross rod or bar to, engaged with the collar P, isalso engaged with the straps or draft-bars i, and the screw-shaft K isnow turned sufficiently to place the desired tension on the series ofstrips. The lever-handle D is now turned, rotating the gear-wheel B andall the pinions in the same direction, imparting the twist to therawhide strips individually. It is usually desirable after the stripshave been considerably twisted subsequent to having been placed intension to further endwise draw them by.

again rotating the screw-shaft, and then a still further twisting motionis imparted to the hooks through the gearing with which the hooks areengaged. It will be pointed out that the disk M, through the apertures mof which the shanks of the hooks are passed, has a series of ratchetedplates o, with the ratchet-teeth 11 with which teeth the crosspins 10,which are provided for the shanks of the hooks, have clickingengagements as they are turned, and these engagements of the cross-pinswith the ratchet-teeth are such as to prevent untwisting rotation of thehooks. After the tensioning and twisting operations have been performedthe straps tmay be disconnected from their engagements through means ofthe cross-rod "a, with the collar, which constitutes the one end supportfor the strips, and the tubular shaft may be bodily removed from themachine, carrying with it intact the collar P and the disk M, togetherwith the entire series of hooks n and all of the stretched and twistedstrips, which may be set away to dry. The said parts P and M are heldagainst being moved along the shaft J toward each other by the stops 16and 19, and upon the removal of one of the shafts J, with the collar P,disk H, and the hooks n and the stretched and twisted rawhide, themachine is left in readiness for the reception therein of a next tubularshaft with collar P, disk M, and series of the twister-hooks m, it beingunderstood that these hooks, arranged through the holes in the disk, maybe readily introduced at their shank ends endwise into the hollow hubsof the pinion-gears and to engagement with the inwardly-protruding endsof the screw-pin 0, which insure by lying against the flattened sides ofthe twisterhook shank that the latter will be rotated in unison with thepinion-gears.

In order that the machine may be readily adapted for twisting strips ofrawhide for whip-centers of different lengths, the rest or support G isbodily endwise adjustable by being formed with upper and lower portions3/ and as more particularly seen in Figs. 2 and 3, which portionsembrace the longitudinal support-bars (L2 and are when properly adjustedheld in confinement thereon by the clamping-bolts 1 for which areprovided the nuts E-having the lever-handles While I have described mypresent improved machine, in respect of the details of its construction,somewhat minutely, I desire to state that I may depart from such detailswithout departing from the essentials and primary characteristics of'myinvention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine for twisting rawhide strips, supports arranged at ornear opposite ends of the machine, and adapted for the connectiontherewith of the strips to be twisted, one end support for each stripbeing rotatable while the other end support is non-rotatable and meansfor turning the rotatable support.

2. In a machine for twisting rawhide strips, supports arranged at ornear opposite ends of the machine,adapted for the connection therewithof the stripsto be twisted, one end support being rotatable while theother is nonrotatable, one of the end supports being endwise movable inrelation to the other, means for imparting the endwise movements of theone end support for placing the rawhide in proper tension while beingtwisted, and means for turning the rotatable support for the-rawhide.

3. A machine for twisting rawhide centers which consists of oppositesupports for the strips of rawhide, and with which the latter are to beengaged, those at the one end being individually rotatable and supportedon, or carried by a part in common to the other end support, andremovable bodily from the machine proper which machine proper comprisesthe means for rotating the individual supports or hooks for the rawhideat one end of each thereof, and the means for imparting the endwisedraft movement to one of the end supports of the series of rawhidestrips, so that the strips after having been twisted and tensioned may,while remaining on the supports on which they were twisted, be bodilyremoved from the machine, leaving the same in readiness for thereception of similar appliances on which a new series of the rawhidestrips may be mounted and twisted as before.

4. In a machine for twisting rawhide whipcenters, in combination, theseries of rotatable gear-wheels F, the hooks or like supports for theopposite ends of the rawhide strips, rotated by said gear-wheels, thegear-wheel l3 meshing said gear-wheels F, means for turning said gear B,the part P located at or near the opposite end of the machine from saidgear-driven hooks, a support on which it is movable toward and away fromsaid hooks, and means for imparting a tensioning or draft movement tothe said part B in a direction away from the hooks.

5. In a machine for twisting rawhide whipcenters, in combination, theremovably-supported shaft J, the part P endwise movable along saidshaft, and means for confining the end of the strips thereon, theapertured disk M, means for limiting said disk and part P againstapproaching movements, a series of rotatable gear-wheels F, the hooks orlike supports for the ends of the rawhide detachably engaged with androtated by said gear-wheels, and protruding through the apertured disk,the gear-wheel B meshing said gear-wheels F, and means for turning saidgear B, ratchet devices on the disk with which projections which are onthe hooks, engage, and means for imparting a tensioning movement to thesaid part P, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a rawhide-twisting machine, the combination with the rotary hooks,of the shaft J, the collar P mounted on and endwise movable along saidshaft, and formed conical, provided with the radial spurs and thebinding-ring, means for rotating the hooks individually, and means forimparting a draft movement to said collar P along the shaft in adirection away from the said hooks, sub stantially as and forthe'purposes set forth.

7. In arawhide-twisting machine, the combination with the rotarypinion-gears having tubular hubs, of the hooks having their ends ICOremovably entered in said tubular hubs and non-rotatably engagedtherein, of the shaft J removably supported provided with the slidingcollar P having means for the connection of the ends of the stripsthereon, the apertured disk M mounted on said shaft, through theapertures of which the hooks protrude, and means for turning the hooks,means for imparting an endwise tensioning movement to the said collarP,and the ratchets on said disk with which the projections on the hooksengage, for the purposes described.

S. In arawhide-twisting machine, the combination with the series ofrotatable hooks in circular arrangement at one end of the machine, andmeans forimparting rotarymovements individually thereto, of the shaft Jarranged longitudinally and concentrically relatively to said circularseries of hooks, the collarP mounted and endwise movable along saidshaft and having a series of members for the engagement therewith of theends of the rawhide strips, and the screw-shaft K having a draftconnection with the said collar for the purpose set forth.

9. In a machine for twisting rawhide whipcenters, the combination withthe gear B, and means for rotating it, and series of pinions F havingtubular hubs, the support G having the support-stud d and screw-shaft K,and the bearing-support E, with socket f, the shaft J removablysupported by said stud d and socket f, endwise perforated, having theendwise-movable collar P with the spurs g at its one end portion, andalso having the disk M with the aperture m and ratchets, the hooks nhaving detachable but non-rotatable, engagements, in the hubs of thepinions, and having the projections engaging said ratchets, draftconnections between the screwshaft K and said collarP, and means forpreventing approaching movements of said collar in relation to the disk,substantially as described.

' 10. In a rawhide-twisting machine, the combination with the rotatablehooks, and means for turning them, of the other end support P for thestrips, a shaft J removably mounted between end supports of the machinetherefor and on which said part P is supported for an endwise tensioningmovement, the screw-shaft K having a draft connection with the saidsupport P, said screw-shaft journaled in the support therefor which isendwise adjustable, and means for confining such support in its adjustedpositions, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

11. In a machine for twisting strips of rawhide for whipceuters inplurality, simultaneously, substantially as described, the combinationwith a series of rotatablehooks mounted in circular arrangement, of acircular part P mounted endwise beyond and distant from said series ofhooks in a line concentrically about which the hooks are arranged, andhaving members with which the ends of the rawhide strips opposite theirhook-supported ends are engaged, means for individually rotating thehooks, and means for imparting a draft movement to said part P in adirection away from the hooks, substantially as described.

Signed by me at Springfield, Massachusetts, this 26th day of May, 1899.

JOHN P. DONOVAN. lVitnesses:

WM. S. BELLows, M. A. CAMPBELL.

